After two weeks of average episodes in what has been a great season, we get another really good episode.
It started with the tribe (and the RI group) receiving the Sprint 4G phone. Many people cringe at the product placement, but at least Survivor incorporates the products in a useful way. I know most people would prefer there was none but it is what pays for the show. I am developing a show right now so I know how very important sponsors are. If you want a show with the production value that Survivor has, it costs a lot of money. So cut them some slack.
On the phone were videos from loved ones. I used to hate these episodes. I thought it was cheesy and I thought the crying was wimpy. After all, they have only been gone a month. But as I get older I have come to really like these episodes. Also, you have to realize that these people have not just been away from family, they have been away from all civilization, they are hungry and tired and have been under tremendous stress. So to have a little love from home must be wonderful. I can imagine myself being out there and having my brother visit or seeing video of my two and a half year old niece. I would be teary.
The twist this time was that it was the winner of the Redemption Island challenge that got to see their family. Mike won the challenge and would get to spend time with his mom. Or... there is always an or... he could let the two remaining Redemption Island guys, Matt and Ralph, spend time with their loved one or let the entire Ometepe gang spend the time with their family. Wow, what a choice. What would he do? I think at that point in the game I would have been selfish. But Mike, whether for strategy, although I really don't think that alone would buy you votes from a potential jury, or maybe because he is just a nice guy, decided to let everyone on the former Ometepe have the time with their families. A very nice gesture. Whether it helps him in any way we shall see.
By the way, am I a bad person for hoping that Matt loses a challenge?
After the day with the loved ones came the immunity challenge. And what a challenge it was. They had to fit planks like a puzzle into steps that went up and up and up. It was one of those challenges that if you made one little mistake you would be out of it. Very quickly Phillip, Natalie and Ashley were so far behind that they would not be a threat. But the race between Grant, Andrea and Rob was close. It went back and forth. Rob really wanted to win. I also really wanted him to win. Andrea clearly wanted it too. You could feel them getting tired. Especially Rob, who was giving it all he had. He was a little ahead as he grabbed his last plank and barely made it to the top of the stairs. But he got it in place and collapsed at the top victorious.
I was tired watching. Actually I went for a hike yesterday and it included going up some steep hills. I was tired and out of breath going up the hill just once. They went up and down these steps multiple times. So Rob won the immunity necklace.
Who would they vote out at tribal? This is the first time that they have had to really turn on themselves. The consensus seemed to be to get rid of Andrea. But Phillip, being Phillip, started acting crazy again making them think twice. I like watching Rob think through the strategy here. Actually, he was the only one thinking things through. Everyone else was just doing what Rob told them. Rob can see that having Phillip at the end will help him get votes because no one is likely to vote for Phillip. He also sees that Andrea is the only one smart enough to see that Rob could be a threat. So logic seemed to support voting out Andrea and that is what they did.
I don't know that that was the right thing to do. Now you have Andrea on Redemption Island with Matt. This may or may not stir up trouble for Rob. I think for Rob's sake he would have been wiser to keep Andrea and maybe get rid of someone with less use to him like Ashley. They always say, keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
The good news is that Rob had won immunity this time. He still has the hidden immunity idol and he also is good at challenges so he potentially could win immunity again. Plus for some strange reason, his star struck tribe (that may be the reason) hasn't even thought about voting him out.
There is one more episode to go and then the finale. I am concerned about when they will allow the person from Redemption Island to rejoin the tribe. If they do it too soon, you could argue that it is unfair for those that get voted out and don't get a chance at Redemption. If they do it too late, then it is unfair to the people that have been playing the game and strategizing the whole time. I have liked Redemption Island up until this point. How it is handled from here will be the deciding factor for me.
No comments:
Post a Comment